Madagascar and other African countries will be able to import rice from India

According to an official notification, India has authorized the export of non-basmati white rice to Madagascar, Comoros, Equatorial Guinea, Egypt, and Kenya in varying quantities.

Exports to these countries are permitted through the National Cooperative Exports Limited, as stated by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade. While initially amending the rice export policy, the DGFT maintained that exports would be allowed with the approval of the governments of the respective countries to meet their food security needs.

India has also introduced additional safeguards by imposing a minimum threshold price on basmati rice exports to prevent the exports of non-basmati white rice, which had already been classified as prohibited since July 2023. In September 2023, India banned the export of rice bran and imposed a 20 % duty on non-basmati rice exports, except for parboiled rice.

Madagascar, aiming for self-sufficiency in white rice, can take advantage of this measure from India to meet its forecasted annual stock of approximately 740 000 tonnes of rice for the year 2024.